Step 4: The Stand

Step 5: Assembly

Push the two straight rods into the bottom holes. Put the bent rod through the holes in the bulb, and then into the hole at the top. Find a suitabl...

A very simple, yet elegant vase, made from a light bulb.

Recently someone came around with a free energy saving light bulb for every home. So I made something from an old burnt out bulb that the new one replaced. The bulb was hollowed out, and then suspended on a simple stand.

You need:

-a light bulb
-metal rod - I found mine in the junk box. I think it came from a filing system. Something around 3/16"
-A piece of wood. I used part of a wine case. You could use anything really. Try something interesting like drift wood.
-the basic tools: saw, drill, Dremel, pliers.

Disclaimer- Glass is sharp. Be careful. Don't eat light bulbs. This is probably known to cause cancer in the state of California.

Step 1: Hollowing Out the Bulb

This step is probably most dangerous. The bulb could easily shatter. Wear Gloves! I used TeamDroid's guide.

Here's a quick run through.

- Break off the metal contact from the bottom- Use a screw or a knife to crack the brown glass insulator- Looking inside you will see the fill tube. Break it off and remove it- Remove the filament and other debris with needle nose pliers- Use a dremel to grind down the glass edges inside for extra safety- Clean out the powder with water- Scrape off the writing with wire wool

Step 2: Holes

Make a hole through the threaded part of the light bulb, close to the top. The hole should be through both sides.

Use a drill bit, or a dremel grinding bit. Make sure the hole is large enough to allow your rod to go through it.

Step 3: Cutting Rods

Cut out two 3 inch rods, and another 3 inch piece with a bend in the end.

My rod had a bend in it already, but you can make one by clamping the rod in a vice and pushing on it, until it bends 90 degrees.

To cut the rods, secure them in a vice, and use a hacksaw to make cuts.

According to some reading I did on Moh's hardness scale, teeth are about the same hardness as Apatite, which is a 5 on the scale. Glass is 5.5 to 7 depending on the type. Diamonds are a 10. So it seems you wouldn't be able to crunch up glass with your teeth. My guess is that the glass he ate in the vid is really cleverly-disguised rock candy. /me shrugs.

aaaaaaahhhh dont you love people who read a little about a subject and try to assume everything else? the moh's hardness scale has nothing to do with crunching or breaking. it scales what hardness different substances/materials are usually by scratching them against each other. for example, you can scratch glass with a diamond but not vice versa. you can scratch micah with glass but you cant scratch glass with micah. im sure you could crush a piece of glass with some big chunks of micah or maybe crush a diamond with a big slag of glass. the moh's hardness scale pretty much states that the glass probly scratched this dudes teeth up pretty good. i hope who ever reads this learns something

I'd assume they used a microphone (knowing that they would want to hear the crunches), and most of the videos I have posted on YouTube have ended up with the sound out of synch after uploading. I have no idea why.

I love the idea, definately gonna try this myself. But you should warn people, if you grind glass, the powder should not be inhaled, even small amounts are really bad. So you should wear some protection like a dust mask or a surgical mask.

Great use of soon to be old technology, with the rise of compact fluorescents! Perhaps a heavy gauge copper wire, wound around the threads could be the hanger then you'd have a clear open hole to put flowers in... Thanks!

Nice Instructable! I'm going to try this the next time I have a burned out incandescent bulb. What I was thinking though is that one could make a wire stand for the bulb, if you wanted to increase the industrial look. :)

Great job with reused items! This is much more aesthetically pleasing than the different post TheCheese is so cheesed about. I hope the next time Cheese deceives his parents and logs on he will have matured enough to appreciate a good instructable and understand that although life does not demand a be nice policy, it should be expected, if not always executed by others.

Very nice but I had a hard time figuring that the odd shaped piece of wood was artistic license. And Kiteman, get rid of the morons eating glass. I feel sick after watching a few minutes of it--I don't feel that it adds anything.